West

Agency finds no misconduct in three-million-gallon spill. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded no wrongdoing was associated with an EPA-led team that triggered the Gold King Mine spill and sent three million…

This month’s page-one story? The EPA has determined that there was no misconduct involved in 2015’s Gold King Mine spill. This news comes on the heels of the announcement by the agency that it was not legally able to pay…

No. 25 Holding Family 400,000 acres A Salt Lake City native, Robert Earl Holding made his fortune in transportation (Little America) and energy (Sinclair Oil). Then he branched out into hospitality; the late billionaire’s portfolio of posh properties includes Idaho’s…

No. 22 Philip Anschutz 434,500 acres Wyoming’s reputation as a low-tax haven is somewhat suspect in certain quarters of downtown Denver, home of The Anschutz Corporation. The company developed its Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project on Anschutz’s Overland…

No. 20 Simplot Family 443,091 acres At The J.R. Simplot Company website, Jack Simplot is described as possessing “a gambler’s intuition and a shrewd businessman’s judgment.” Proof of that came at age 14, when the youngster quit school to go…

No. 18 Stimson Family 500,000 acres (NEW TO LIST) One of the oldest forest products companies in the nation, Stimson Lumber Company pre-dates the Civil War. The family owns significant fir, pine, and cedar operations in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and…

Secretary of Interior to vet designations since 1996. President Donald Trump directed Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review national monuments greater than 100,000 acres created by the Antiquities Act since January 1, 1996. The Antiquities Act Executive Order,…

Congress considers eliminating key landowner tax tool. Text by Eric O’Keefe | Photography by Jason Walsmith Grover Norquist is bullish on the prospects for passage of tax reform legislation this year. However, the founder and president of Americans for Tax…